Just seen Steve Lawson and Michael M tonight

I have just come back from seeing a clinic/gig by our own Steve Lawson and Michael Manring. in Exeter tonight.

I was totally blown away by what I saw and heard. These are two extreamly talented and humble guys who are not only great bassists but willing to take questions and share their knowledge.

I will try and give a flavour of the evening.

Steve did a great display of using looping and various effects to create a layered and textured sound that was melodic and very entertaining Steve was able to build a piece adding layer upon layer to his sound whist adding improvisation over the top. For a lot of people including me it was their first experience of looping and was an eye opener.

Michael complimented Steve's playing by giving an incredible display of high octane bass playing combining slapping, tapping, chords, ebow and finger style in a way that displayed complexity, speed and sensitivity which never lost the attention of the audiance.

As well as solo pieces they both combined in a number of improvised duets playing off each other, with their own individual style enhancing what the other was playing.

To sum up, those who have tickets for the other nights of the tour are in for a real treat and I would encourage anyone thinking of going to buy a ticket as soon as possible.